Scoring runs counts more than anything else: Parthiv

Expecting a national cap soon is wishful thinking for Parthiv

India discard Parthiv Patel tells Bikash Mohapatra he continues to work hard on his game every season because of the motivation of regaining his place in the team.

Parthiv Patel's case presents a perfect predicament.

The role of wicketkeeper-batsman in Team India is taken up by somebody who happens to be the captain of the team.

MS Dhoni, despite getting a lot of flak for the team's recent poor performances and his captaincy per se, has absolved himself somewhat with an improved performance with the bat and good show behind the stumps.

Wridhimann Saha isn't doing too badly either.

In fact, the Bengal keeper-batsman is the first preference should the selectors decide, at any given point, to give Dhoni a much-needed rest considering Team India's packed schedule.

That leaves Patel in a quandary. The diminutive player from Gujarat is palpably down in the pecking order and, as such, expecting a national call up is wishful thinking.

The 27-year-old last donned national colours in a One Day International -- in the Commonwealth Bank Series -- against Sri Lanka at the Gabba (Brisbane) last February. Since then it has been an endless wait, this despite scoring a plethora of runs in domestic competitions every season.

'Playing for India is the extra goal I keep in mind'

Patel is quick to admit his desire to quickly get back to the national fold.

"Obviously there is a motivation of playing for India," he says, adding, "That's the extra goal that I have always kept in my mind.

"That's the reason why I work so hard on my game every season and I am glad that whichever areas I'm working on I am getting the results."

If statistics can be considered the lone barometer of performance then Patel's is a valid case. The Gujarat skipper has scored runs galore in domestic competitions this season.

An aggregate of 895 runs in eight matches, at an impressive average (68.84), in the Ranji Trophy -- the country's premier domestic competition -- underlines his credentials.

He helped himself to three centuries in the process -- a magnificent 162 against Madhya Pradesh at Indore, a strokeful 111 against Hyderabad at Valsad and a valiant 101 against Mumbai at Nerul -- and is the second highest scorer in the competition this year.

'I am quite happy with the way I have been batting'

"I am quite happy with the way I have been batting," he says, adding, "I have scored more than 800 runs this season.

"I would like to continue in the same vein."

Unfortunately, his Ranji campaign came to an end on Tuesday with Gujarat's failure to make it to the knock-out rounds.

In fact, it was his team's erratic form and inconsistency that made Patel not only shoulder the responsibility of scoring the bulk of the runs but also getting them at a faster rate (Parthiv has a strike rate of 80 this season). Ask him that and he gets defensive.

"It's not a conscious decision to score at a faster rate," he explains.

"It's just the way I am playing. I am feeling good and am hitting the ball well, and in the gaps," he adds.

Competition from Saha doesn't bother Parthiv

With Saha ahead of him in the pecking order, the onus is on Patel to be consistent. To his credit, he is doing his bit by bettering his performance in the domestic circuit each season. The young wicketkeeper-batsman albeit refrains from admitting that he is under any sort of pressure.

"There's no pressure as such," he explains, adding, "As I said there is a motivation of playing for India rather than taking any pressure.

"The only way to play for India is to score runs in domestic cricket and that's what I focus on."

While hopes of a Test recall – Patel played the last of his 20 Tests against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval (Colombo) in August 2008 – seem a bit too far-fetched, a return to the shorter formats seems more realistic.

'Scoring runs counts more than anything else'

In fact, following his One-day debut -- against New Zealand in Queenstown back in 2003 -- he was dropped from the team a year later and made a return only in December 2010, against New Zealand again, scoring successive half centuries – 53 in Bangalore and 56 not out in Chennai. He played 24 of his 38 ODIs in that 15-month period, till last February.

Patel has made major adjustments to his game since and become more adept in playing the shorter versions. However, he remains realistic about a possible return.

"That (selection) is not something that is in my hands," he says, adding, "I can only keep scoring runs and the rest of the things are not in my control.

"So I don't worry about such things. You got to score runs and I believe that counts more than anything else."

Patel is willing to wait for his time to come. Fortunately, at 27, there is still a lot left.